United States

Hurricane Sandy thrashed the United States’ east coast on 29 October, causing massive destruction and displacing many residents

Despite the government’s comprehensive emergency response, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) found that medical services were lacking in two key areas: evacuation centres and apartment blocks in New York and New Jersey. Many elderly, disabled or chronically sick people were confined in high-rise blocks without electricity, water or access to their medicines.

Teams of returned field workers and staff from MSF’s New York office offered medical and mental healthcare at the FDR High School in Brooklyn, the Susan E. Wagner High School in Staten Island, and the Wallace Public School, St Matthew’s Church and Saints Peter and Paul Church in Hoboken, New Jersey. Working with information provided by local community groups and other organisations, MSF staff also visited people in their homes to address their health needs.

The main goal was continuity in medical care, as the vast majority of patients had chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and upper respiratory tract infections. Pharmacies were damaged and closed, so teams identified pharmacies in neighbouring communities that could provide the necessary medicines. MSF handed over activities to government agencies and other organisations.